A lawsuit against Chipotle this week alleges employees tried to cover up a Norovirus outbreak that occurred at a Simi Valley, California location in August. The suit was filed in the Central District of California Western Division, case number 2:16-cv-00399-PA.
The suit stems from a norovirus outbreak that occurred at the location in August 2015, the same month a Minnesota Salmonella outbreak sickened 64 people who ate at 22 Chipotle locations. And one month after an E. coli outbreak, that was not disclosed at the time, sickened five people in the Seattle area.
Norovirus, formerly called Norwalk virus, is highly contagious. It causes vomiting and diarrhea.
Plaintiffs include seven minors and one adult who were all sick for two days with vomiting and diarrhea. One of them, who was … [Read more...]

Chipotle leadership is confident that the E. coli outbreak linked to food served at its restaurants in nine states is over and that its food safety problems are history. Chipotle CEO Steve Ells spoke at the ICR Investor Conference in Orlando, Fla. yesterday. "We are all very confident that this E. coli outbreak would not happen again," he said.
The outbreak, which has sickened 53 people in nine states, has not yet been declared over by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) which last issued an update on its investigation on December 21, 2015. But Ells thinks the agency will make and announcement soon and the company can move forward in the new year with a new food safety program that will ensure it never has another year like 2015.
During 2015, the company was … [Read more...]

Chipotle says the cost of its extensive new food safety measures will not be passed on to consumers in the form of price hikes on menu items. The new measures, which Chipotle hopes will make it an industry leader in food safety, were prompted by recent food poisoning outbreaks including a nine-state E. coli outbreak that has sickened 52 people and a Salmonella outbreak that sickened 64 people in Minnesota.
The Salmonella outbreak was linked to tomatoes grown in Florida. The food source of the E. coli outbreak has not been discovered.
For one Washington woman, an ingredient in a burrito bowl was the source of illness, according to a lawsuit filed by the national food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen. She ordered the meal from a Vancouver location on October 21 and began experiencing … [Read more...]

In the wake of two high-profile food poisoning outbreaks, Chipotle has announced its intention to become a leader in food safety. The fat casual restaurant chain is currently linked to nine-state E. coli outbreak that has sickened 52 people and was linked to a Salmonella outbreak in Minnesota that sickened 64 people in September.
The outbreaks have prompted the company to revamp the food safety and food handling practices at all of its restaurants and throughout its supply chain, the company said in a press release today. Chipotle hopes these changes will position it as a food safety leader in the industry.
Chipotle retained Seattle-based IEH Laboratories to help it identify opportunities to enhance food safety practices throughout its operations. Some of the features of the new … [Read more...]

Tomato grower Lipman Produce has been added as a defendant in a lawsuit filed against Chipotle. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a Minnesota woman who contracted Salmonella after eating at a Chipotle restaurant in Maplewood, Minnesota.
The plaintiff is among 64 people who developed Salmonella infections after eating at Chipotle restaurants. The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) collaborated with federal health officials on the investigation of the outbreak that affected customers at 22 of the 60 Chipotle locations in Minnesota.
The state agencies identified tomatoes as the source of the Salmonella Newport outbreak. Lipman Produce of Immokalee, Florida supplied the tomatoes to the the Minnesota Chipotle locations.
The outbreak … [Read more...]

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) have just identified tomatoes as the source of the Salmonella Newport outbreak that has sickened 64 people who ate at Chipotle restaurants around the state. They are now working to trace the tomatoes back to the farm where they were grown.
Now, 66 people have been sickened in this outbreak. Twenty-two Chipotle restaurants are linked to the outbreak, an increase of five since the last report. Nine people have been hospitalized because of their illness, and all are recovering. People sickened in this Salmonella outbreak ate at the restaurants from August 16 to August 28, and became ill between August 19 and September 3, 2015. The patient age range is 10 to 69 years. The patients live in 13 metro … [Read more...]

The Salmonella outbreaks at the Fig & Olive restaurant in Washington, D.C. and Chipotle restaurants in Minnesota are not uncommon. Just in the last year, there have been six other Salmonella outbreaks linked to restaurants in the United States.
Contaminated cucumbers sold in salads at Red Lobster restaurants in Minnesota sickened many people with Salmonella infections this summer. A Salmonella outbreak linked to the deli at the Boise Co-op in Idaho this summer sickened almost 300 people. A Salmonella outbreak at Seattle's Tallulah restaurant sickened at least 16 people in July, linked to a sauce made from raw eggs. An outbreak at the Tarheel Q restaurant in North Carolina in June and July sickened almost 200 people. A Salmonella outbreak at the X10 restaurant in Dalhart, Texas last … [Read more...]

Minnesotans love their Chipotle. During the 10-day period in August when Minnesota locations unknowingly stocked produce contaminated with Salmonella, they served 560,000 customers.
On Thursday, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) announced that a Salmonella outbreak linked to food served at Minnesota Chipotle restaurants has sickened 45 people. So far, illnesses have been linked to 17 locations. There are at least 60 Chipotle locations in Minnesota, according to the company's website.
Because many cases of salmonellosis go undiagnosed, MDH said the number of those sickened is likely to be much higher and they are urging people who have become ill with symptoms of salmonellosis to see a health care provider and mention exposure to Salmonella at Chipotle.
Symptoms of a … [Read more...]

Seventeen Chipotle locations in Minnesota have been linked to a Salmonella Newport outbreak that has sickened at least 45 people. Locations confirmed to be part of the outbreak are: Bloomington, Crystal, Hopkins, Maple Grove, Maplewood, Minnetonka, Richfield, Ridgedale, Rochester, Shoreview, St. Cloud, St. Louis Park, St. Paul Lawson, and in Minneapolis 7 Corners, Calhoun, Uptown, and US Bank Plaza. Other locations may also be involved.
Minnesota health and agriculture officials are testing suspected ingredients. Results of those tests are not yet available.
The outbreak is not associated with the cucumber Salmonella outbreak and is no longer ongoing. The suspected source is a produce item and Chipotle has switched its supplier. However, health officials urge anyone who ate at a … [Read more...]

A Salmonella outbreak linked to food served at Chipotle restaurants in Minnesota has sickened 45 people since Wednesday, September 2, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. The outbreak involves 17 locations, most of them located in the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
Because many cases of salmonellosis go undiagnosed, the number of those sickened is likely to be much higher and health officials want to alert people who have become ill with symptoms of salmonellosis to see a health care provider and mention the outbreak.
Symptoms of a Salmonella infection usually develop within six to 72 hours of exposure and include fever, nausea, abdominal cramps and diarrhea that can be bloody. Typically, these symptoms last between four and seven days.About 28 percent of cases require … [Read more...]